Tag: Aidan Carter

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph’s Aidan Carter helped lead Falcons to the top of the heap, named GMC boys’ basketball Player of the Year

There are a lot of good boys’ basketball players in Middlesex County. Some, you’ll see at the end of this article.

But one in particular got all the hype in the preseason, and it turns out none of it was hot air.

Injuries hobbled Aidan Carter last year at St. Thomas Aquinas, which had some of its own upheaval going on around the basketball program after the departure of Bob Turco, who moved on to Piscataway and took the Chiefs right to the county finals. He managed to play 13 games, and averaged 12.8 per contest, hitting nine treys on the season.

But he was perhaps the biggest prize Mark Taylor picked up upon his return to St. Joseph-Metuchen during the off-season. Sure, Joel Patrick from Union made a splash, and Andrew Kretkowski – who came from Rutgers Prep – asserted himself as a leader early on.

And with Carter having to sit the first 30 days due to NJSIAA transfer rules, the Falcons were still 7-0 before he could step foot on the floor. Minus an opener against Wesley College (Australia), the St. Joe’s was winning games, but with Carter, they began to dominate.

Wins by ten and 20 points turned into wins by 20, 30 or more. They had height, and would fly all over the court.

But a 6′ 7″ junior guard who could do it all? He turned out to be perhaps the most valuable piece for St. Joseph, and he’s the Central Jersey Sports Radio GMC boys’ basketball Player of the Year.

Carter upped his game, not having to be bothered by an injury. He played in 24 games, only sitting out what he was required to, and finished with an 18.2 point per game average, nine boards per contest, and 23 triples on the year, to go along with 188 assists, 40 blocks and 63 steals.

Click below to hear from St. Joseph-Metuchen’s Aidan Carter, the GMC Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year:

GMC Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year Honorable Mentions:

  • Andrew Kretkowski, St. Joseph-Metuchen: A transfer in who started his first two seasons at Rutgers Prep, Kretkowski was the second-leading scorer for the Falcons at 17.5 points per game, with 8.2 rebounds. Like Carter, he has in infectious energy that helped rejuvenate his teammates in a huge bounce-back year for St. Joe’s
  • Jayce Rodriguez, Colonia: Along with Dylan Chiera, Jayce was one of two returning starters for a Patriot program that lost major pieces in the off-season, including Aiden Derkack and R.J. Wortman. But his steady demeaner – along with his 20/2 points per game and 79 treys – helped lead Colonia to a fifth straight North 2, Group 3 title, and to its first state championship game in school history.
  • Sam Jones, Sayreville: Scoring a personal best 617 points this season (22.1 ppg) with 66 treys, Jones will graduate as the all-time leader in scoring – boys or girls – at Sayreville, first passing 1970s standout Steve Makwinski’s boys’ record, then Rhonda Rompola’s school record, set in 1978. He finished his career 1ith 1,853 points and 233 triples.
  • Donald Nwaigwe, Piscataway: A thousand-point scorer in four varsity seasons for the Chiefs (who only scored three points in nine games his freshman year, making it even more impressive) Nwaigwe is an energetic ballplayer who averaged 15.7 points per game this season and 8.2 rebounds, leading Piscataway in both categories.
  • Matt Mikulka, East Brunswick: The Bears had their best season since the Bo Henning era, winning 21 games, with Mikulka a big reason why. The senior point guard averaged 20.7 points per game this season, and connected on 83 triples.
  • Yandel Susana, Perth Amboy: Susana was the most prolific scorer the Panthers have had in a single season since Josh Cabezudo scored 544 in 2017-18. He scored 484 points for a 17.2 point per game average as Amboy won its first division title since 1993.
  • Cameron Hayes-Durina: Averaging 16.3 points a game for the Bulldogs (he’s also a solid football player) helped Metuchen to a 24-5 season, 7-0 in the GMC’s White National to win the division, its first title since winning the GMC Blue in 2006, a year the Bulldogs went all the way to the GMC Tournament title game, ultimately falling to Colonia.

by Mike Pavlichko

From 6-16 to GMC Tournament champs, rejuvenated St. Joseph-Metuchen named CJSR Boys’ Basketball Team of the Year

A year ago, St. Joseph boys’ basketball was a mess. Karl Towns, Sr. – the father of Falcon great Karl-Anthony Towns, who brought the Metuchen school a Tournament of Champions title in 2014 – was on his way out after a disastrous 6-16 season, where he barely coached the team, and seemed to spend more time watching his famous son play at Madison Square Garden after being traded from Minnesota to the Knicks.

Oh, how things changed quickly.

St. Joseph went with a known commodity: Mark Taylor, a 1983 graduate who later coached Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum and won two GMC titles in his first go-round, then later coached at Ridge and St. Benedict’s Prep.

He brought in key transfers, including Aidan Carter from nearby St. Thomas Aquinas, Andrew Kretkowski from Rutgers Prep, and Joel Patrick from Union, among others. The last two played right away, but Carter had to sit 30 days due to NJSIAA transfer rules.

A beautifully-voiced singer once told us it’s “never as good as the first time,” but this one proved the exception to the rule.

The Falcons won their first 16 games before taking a loss, a 55-54 defeat on the road at South Plainfield. It prompted a nearly 45-minute postgame meeting in the visiting lockerroom, but Taylor later called it the best thing that could have happened to his team.

It must have been, because they won their next 13 games, too – blitzing through the GMC Tournament to win the championship, making it all the way to Jackson for the Non-Public South A finals, where they eventually lost to St. Peter’s Prep, a juggernaut that beat five different Central Jersey Sports Radio-area squads this year.

And while they may not have finished the year No. 1 – that went to Gill St. Bernard’s, which won its division, county tournament, state sectional and first-ever state championship – the Falcons’ turnaround and league title earns Team of the Year honors from Central Jersey Sports Radio.

By the way, the Falcons aren’t done yet. Who knows what Taylor has up his sleeve for next year, with Alijah Muprhy the biggest senior graduation, as the core of Kretkowksi, Carter and Patrick will return.

Click below to hear from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Boys’ Basketball Team of the Year, including juniors Aidan Carter and Andrew Kretkowski, along with head coach Mark Taylor:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas had opportunities, but St. Joseph-Metuchen prevails, 63-51, in GMC Tournament semis, as Taylor leads alma mater back to finals

Mark Taylor won two GMC Tournament championships in his first go-round as the head coach at his alma mater. But right now he’s a win away from what may be his masterpiece.

St. Joseph-Metuchen hasn’t been to the league’s championship game since 2019 the last of a ten-year stretch in which they appeared every year, and won nine of ten titles, the first eight under Dave Turco, the second eight under Mike Thompson, a teammate of Taylor’s with the Falcons in their playing days.

But now, they are back, in Taylor’s first year in his second stint at the Metuchen school, after a 63-51 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the GMC Tournament semifinals, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It wasn’t the most convincing win, but considering they’ve been knocked off once this year, 55-54 by South Plainfield on January 27th, Taylor will take it.

The turning point of the game might actually have been the first six minutes of the ball game. If not, it was certainly the most consequential moment. While top-seeded St. Joe’s built an eleven-point lead, they held the Trojans off the ball until the 2:08 mark of the first. Had they hit just a couple of buckets, the second half – and the final result – might have been different.

Joe’s (25-1) led by 13 at the half, 38-25. But fifth-seed Aquinas (11-14) got it to nine with six minutes left in the third, and 43-25 with 3:25 to go. But the Falcons went on a 10-1 run and led again by 13 heading into the fourth.

And still, St. Thomas was back for more. And and-one opportunity with a missed free-throw by Albion Ahmetaj cut it to eight with 4:38 left in the game. But with Dan Jennings and his brother, Jared, in foul trouble, that was as close as they would get.

Meanwhile, Aquinas transfer Aidan Carter had another monster game with 22 points, going 11-of-13 from the foul line. He led all scorers in the game, as he did at the half when he had 17 points. Big man Andrew Kretkwoski, the transfer in from Rutgers Prep, scored 18.

St. Thomas was led by Dan Jennings’ 15, including two triples, the first of which got Aquinas on the board late in the first quarter.

St. Joseph will go for its 13th GMC title Friday night at 8 pm when the Falcons take on second-seed Piscataway, which is back in the final for a second year in a row after a 64-59 win over third-seed Colonia Wednesday night. That will follow the girls’ final at 6 pm at Monroe Twp. High School, which features top-seed and six-time defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas taking on second-seed East Brunswick. Central Jersey Sports Radio will have live coverage of both games.

Click below for postgame reaction with St. Joseph of Metuchen junior Aidan Carter and head coach Mark Taylor, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: